Coleman’s memorandum stated that Baker planned to look into the issue further. We asked Baker about that and he stated he did not recall specifics, but he believed he asked “somebody on the Midyear team” about the issue.
In the Coleman memorandum’s next and final paragraph, which is undated, it stated, “It was determined by DD McCabe and EAD Steinbach that any follow on investigative activity concerning the emails located on Anthony Weiner’s laptop would be reviewed by the MIDYEAR investigative team.” Coleman said he did not recall why this entry was undated and was unsure at what point this occurred. He told us that he shared an office with Steinbach and that this could have been a dialogue between himself and Steinbach at some point later in October.
2. Email from Bowdich to Comey on October 3
On October 3, at 7:42 p.m., Bowdich sent an email to Comey and McCabe briefing them on items of interest from that day. Rybicki was cc’d on the email, which was entitled “Daily Report.” After highlighting three unrelated items, Bowdich stated, “I asked Randy Coleman to stay behind tomorrow to quickly brief you on the Weiner matter which is growing more complicated, but it can wait until then.” Bowdich told the OIG that he did not remember what was “growing more complicated” with the Weiner matter. Bowdich noted that when dealing with issues of this type he typically “would have pushed that up to Andy, and/or the Director, and Baker would have been right in the middle of it.”
Comey told us he did not recall this email and also did not recall what was “growing more complicated” in the Weiner matter. Comey stated that he was “only dimly” aware of the Weiner child exploitation investigation at this point in time.
We also asked Rybicki about this email. Rybicki stated that he did not know what was meant by “the Weiner matter which is growing more complicated.” Rybicki told us that he first recalled hearing about the issue of Clinton emails on the Weiner laptop on October “26th into the 27th.” When asked if this email made Rybicki think that he and Comey were aware of the Weiner laptop issue earlier than he recalled, Rybicki responded, “I don’t think so.... I remember on the 27th right when I heard about it thinking this is [unintelligible]. That would, that’s my first recollection as well of hearing anything about it.”
3. Meeting between Comey and Coleman on October 4
Comey’s Outlook calendar for October 4 contains an entry for “Morning Briefs” from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. that is immediately followed by an entry for “Meeting w/EAD Coleman” from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Coleman told us that he could not recall this briefing with Comey. Coleman stated that staying behind to brief Comey would be consistent with normal practice, but added that he did not recall this specific instance. Coleman told us that it would be unusual to have a one-on-one meeting with Comey and told us someone else would typically be present at these briefings, such as the DD or ADD. While not remembering this meeting, Coleman speculated that this may have been a one-on-one meeting with Comey to discuss Coleman’s upcoming retirement from the FBI in December 2016.
293
